Eventful Weeks!

I must apologize.. these last weeks have been crazy. First, it was spring break, then it was super Flood week and now.. well, it's blizzard/flood week. We have ANOTHER week off from school due to the threat of the river and the flooding. I've lifted more sandbags in the last weeks than I ever thought possible..... I also saw Fargo on the national news more than I ever expected. It's been a trying week, as it's scary to see more ambulances, Sand trucks and Red cross disaster relief vehicles than anything else. There were sandbag trucks escorted by police cars and people doing their best to hold back the waters. It's been an experience that I will NEVER forget...! I hope you enjoy the update!!!

oh rubix.... you're so darn cute!

new favorite t-shirt... thank you american apparel!

me and my sponsor dog, river

me with loki :)

what it's really like at the fawcett family home... notice the abundance of animals :) i LOVED it!

future campaign photo; we will be on a ticket some day

doing the big time in bismarck at the capitol...! SB2278 :)

a gas station with car-side coffee service....

mikey relaxing with harry potter and rubix

mr. shadow taking a snooze.

making plans.

we are READY

sam is EXCITED

police escort

for sandbags...

end of the third day: a bit dirty...

El Zagal golf course... you usually can't see the water from this spot.

sandbag creation.

slightly ironic?

we got the privilege of assembling our own sandbags on site...

sandbag ninja accompanied us!

mikey's idea of a meal. :)

sandbagging...

regular site around here these days.

day o' sandbagging... notice the wind burnt face, lips and DIRTY chin.. tanks to the 6' men throwing sandbags at my face.

mass flooding and blizzards lead to I-94 looking like this:

dad making sure the new camera works...

brother and sis

The siblings :)

brother, me and Pops

The men... trying to get a stuffed animal from the CLAW!

A road that you can normally drive on.... they put up a contingency dike right down the middle of the street... this happened all over town.

A little adventure down to the Red River... just to check things out...Even this has a TON of sandbags around it...

I would not recommend using those stairs...

the Veteran's Memorial Bridge over Main Avenue... looks like a tourist attraction!

view looking East... that is on the Moorhead side

the bridge.... the one that was on cnn

so much for this stairway...

just another day with blackhawk helicopters flying over

me and "my" fargo!

The Weekend Report

So, this weekend was quite busy... like most have been in recent weeks! I headed out to Bismarck on Friday afternoon for the North Dakota Student Association meeting that was to be held during the evening (and into the night-time) hours of Friday and then on Saturday morning as well. My involvement with the organization hasn't been all too long... In fact, the only reason I found out about it was because I felt that if this organization endorsed SB2278 it would speak volumes about how the young people of ND feel toward the bill... long story short, they did fully support it and I thoroughly enjoyed being a part of the organization... so at the last meeting when nominations were being taken for committee chairs for the student affairs committee... I had myself nominated... and to make another fairly long story short... I was elected into the position on Saturday morning. I'm really excited to have the opportunity to work with students and schools from around the state of ND. I know that there is a TON of work that needs to be done in order to get some of these schools up to the place that the should have been years ago.... but, I am eager and excited to take on the challenge... and I've met some great new friends along the way. It's been an interesting and exciting ride... but one that I am thankful to have had.

Mikey also had a fun weekend. He was in Grand Forks at a poker tournament and even though he got "rivered" he walked away quite happy. You see, during a short intermission he decided to use the facilities and on his way back walked past the pull tab counter... he stopped dead in his tracks and decided that he needed to spend the $1 in his pocket on A pull tab... well, as luck would have it... he won $400 on that single dollar purchase... he's one of the most lucky boys ever... in celebration we purchased groceries, he bought a magazine and I got myself a vanilla chai tea at starbuck's... here's to a good weekend :)

great weekend

FUN weekend... here are my photos with baby angela.... it's angela ^2 :)

I am bound and determined to get a photo with this little lady...

a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e.

at home

she can blow bubbles on command!!

kisses

the best we got :)

Today was a day of mixed feelings...... some good and empowering, but many disheartening and disappointing. I traveled to Bismarck today to participate in Women's Lobby Day at the capitol. I expected this day to be full of valuable information and opportunities... for women...but what I was greeted with was patriarchy of new levels; feelings of a fourth grade field trip were how I felt as a "visitor" to the building.
When we arrived at the capitol building, we were required to head upstairs and register; quite benign in itself. But, things shifted quickly when we were told to put on bright yellow shirts and write out a nametag with a sharpie marker laying on a table. These t-shirts and sub-standard name badges made us stick out like sore thumbs... and not in a good way. We were presented like a fourth grade field trip to "check out the capitol" rather than to be taken seriously as valuable constituents from across the state. After a short briefing on the events of the day, we were invited to eat lunch... again, sounding quite nice. But, we quickly discovered that there were no arrangements for seating... which meant that all of the 90 or so women in attendance sat on the floor to eat their lunches. Women were in every nook and cranny, while their male counterparts trepsed on by in suits and ties. The power differential was incredible and I felt sad to see how women were being treated and percieved at such a great-intending event. It truly saddened me that the women of our state weren't offered something better. I can only speculate that a "men's lobby day" would have been met with suits, ties, and printed name cards.

Also upsetting were the comments that we heard throughout the day. So many references were made to "women bombarding" and "women ruining the history of the country" that it made me seriously doubt the cognitive abilities of many of our legislators.

And lastly, the voting that took place was abserd. Bills with subsidized funding for healthcare for uninsured children was voted down. As we sit with SO much money in the surplus, I wonder how these (mostly male) individuals sleep at night knowing that they are responsible for the fact that thousands of children go without health insurance and medical care each day.

Again, I want to reiterate that this day had FABULOUS intentions; however, the way that we were presented was in a clearly sub-standard level that made me feel like we were simply bothersome and only there to get a tour of the capitol... not be treated like we were a valuable asset for which to engage in discussion with... in fact, I felt somewhat avoided and as if I was the subject of a bad joke.

The reason I do the things I do

So, as the previous post stated, I've been heavily involved with the legislative process this session in North Dakota. Specifically, I've been working with Senate Bill 2278, which seeks to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes ensuring that individuals can not be fired from their job or evicted from their home based on their identification as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). This weekend, a huge battle was won when I went to the North Dakota Student Association (NDSA) meeting in Bismarck. I've been working with them for about three weeks in efforts to get support for this legislation, but this weekend the NDSA unanimously voted to formally support the bill... this means that as we move forward in the legislative session we carry the voices of over 42,000 ND University students!

So, many of you haven't asked, but I know you're wondering.... why in the world am I so invested in this process when I'm not a member of the LGBT community.... for me it's something that is intrinsic in my nature and that I simply can't ignore. Injustice is written into North Dakota law and the fact that a significant portion of my friends and chosen family can't be certain that they will have a home tomorrow or even a job is enough to motivate me to give every last second to this cause. There are enough other challenges in life; it's time that we all treat one another with dignity, humanity, and respect....So, with that I leave you the images of the people that I do this work for... my friends, my students, my peers, my motivation!

It's been SO LONG

since I've posted that I forgot my username and password. After 15 minutes of trying to locate it, I finally stumbled upon the right info! The last couple months have been really great and really busy for us! The new semester is well under way and both mikey and I are embarking on some new endeavors. Mikey transferred from the Mechanical engineering program to Industrial Engineering, and thus far seems to be really enjoying it. I took a new job in the Office of Equity, Diversity and Global Outreach and have also been loving the change of pace. I've also been very involved with the legislative session in ND, as there is a bill that seeks to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes in the state. I've been to Bismarck once already and have three more visits planned in the next weeks. I'm really hoping that we can get this through, as both Mikey and I feel that it is necessary that our state value all of its citizens equally, regardless of a component of their identity for which they did not choose. I will be sure to keep this blog updated more ... even if it's more words than photos... working with this piece of legislation has been a very interesting and rewarding experience!